Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison wrote in his diary the following entrancing paragraph:

The sun has left us on time, am going to read from the Encyclopedia Britannica to steady my nerves and go to bed early. I will shut my eyes and imagine a terraced abyss, each terrace occupied by a beautiful maiden. To the first I will deliver my mind and they will pass it down, down to the uttermost depths of silence and oblivion.

Charlie Papazian, in his The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, re-used this in his intro to a light-bodied hoppy beer recipe that he titled "The Sun Has Left Us on Time" Steam Beer.

This brew of Charlie's I have not yet tried, mainly because light beers don't get me all that excited. I much prefer heavier more complex flavored dark ales. I brewed a Gruit Ale this weekend. Gruit Ale is what ale used to be before hops were discovered, and promoted by the Church as The way to brew. Gruit itself was a mixture of commonly available herbs that when added to the brew kettle provided the same antiseptic effects as hops. As well, according to many sources the herbs when in the presence of alcohol do not cause a low, depressive, sleepy effect on the system, as hops does, but more of a stimulating, mildly hallucinogenic, and intoxicatic effect. I will post my Gruit Recipe shortly, and when conditioned and ready the results of this brew lab experiment.